Whaligoe Steps and the Cairn of Get

This walk combines a visit to two remarkable attractions. The Whaligoe steps, all 330 of them, descend a cliff-face to one of the least-accessible harbours you could imagine, whilst inland is the Cairn of Get, a very well preserved chambered cairn. Extreme care is needed on the steps.

Terrain

The path to the Cairn of Get is through rough pastures and is waymarked. The Whaligoe Steps are very steep with unprotected vertical drops into the sea; great care is needed.

Accommodation

Walk Description

Stage 1

Take the narrow minor road which heads inland from Whaligoe; it is signed for the Cairn of Get; there is a marked space to park at the south end of Loch Watenan. Begin the walk by heading back along this minor road; when it turns sharp left by a house (once a railway cottage on the Wick - Lybster line), turn right through a metal kissing gate between two farm gates. The route from here to the Cairn of Get is marked by tall black and white striped metal posts and begins by keeping along the edge of the first field with the fence on your right.

Stage 2

At the end of the field go through another kissing gate (with marker post). On the far side the path ascends the hill by heading to the left and then swinging back to the right through the gorse bushes. Look for the next marker post at another kissing gate at the far corner of the field (the standing stone visible ahead and to the left on a hilltop marks another chambered cairn - not the Cairn of Get). The next field is very boggy but the path crosses it by means of a wooden boardwalk to reach a stile at the far end.

Stage 3

Climb briefly uphill to the next marker post; the Cairn of Get is just beyond. This is a chambered cairn, a burial site dating from the bronze age. It once would have been roofed but is now open to the elements, with a passage leading into an inner chamber between two upright slabs. This whole area is rich in prehistoric remains; there are many other cists and cairns in the area. Return back the way you came all the way to the minor road.

Stage 4

To visit the Whaligoe Steps, do not turn left back to the start but instead continue straight ahead on the tarmac road, passing the cottage on the right which used to be the station when the railway ran here, and following it back to the A99 where you turned off earlier. Cross the road (with care) and follow the lane past the two rows of low cottages, turning left just before the car park at the far end towards the large house with the walled garden. This is an excellent cafe. Turn right alongside the wall and then left past the front of the building. You are now at the top of the famous Whaligoe steps; continue ahead to begin the descent.

Stage 5

There are 330 of these remarkably-made steps which date back to the mid 18th century when there were originally 365, made at a cost of £8, although some of the ones near the top are now missing. They make an unlikely route down the vertical cliffs towards the sea; great care is needed as the drop is precipitous. This is an extremely dramatic spot. At the bottom is a platform which once housed a winch for loading the catch from the boats below, or for hauling the boats from the water; the fisher wives would have carried the fish up in creels, although some herring where salted in barrels at a point part way down and then loaded into schooners for export - in this case the women would have carried the heavy salt down.

Stage 6

This was once just one of several treacherous harbours on this short stretch of hazardous coastline. At its busiest, 24 boats were working out of Whaligoe, all fishing for herring. The name here comes from Whale Geo, referring to times when a beached whale would be brought into the inlet and butchered and processed at the bottom. The steps themselves are looked after by a small number of dedicated locals who have been restoring them from a period of neglect and vandalism. At the foot of the steps the coastal scenery is terrific, including a fine cliff waterfall. Return back up the steps, past the mill and terraced houses and back over the A99 to head up the minor road to the parking area.